Eastern Europe 8 galleries

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23 years after the worst environmental disaster in history Chernobyl has become a tourist attraction. The zone is still closed to any one but the 4000 workers that live there 4 days a week to maintain the area. A small travel agency in Kiev organises tours to visit the region. The highlights are reactor 4 that exploded in the night of 26 april 1986 and the ghost town Pripyat.

Many stadiums in Ukraine are being thouroughly renovated or newly built for the Euro 2012 football championship. Critics doubt wether Ukraine is giong to be ready for the tournament in time, but the Ukrainians are convinced they'll meet the nescesary UEFA requirements in time.

Krasnoarmeisk, Ukraine. A favorite winter passtime in many cold regions: ice fishing. These Ukrainian men spend their weekends on the frozen lakes of Ukraine to catch miniscule fish. It's a hobby but with the financial crisis that hit this country especially hard the little bit of extra protein is a welcome addition on the dinner table.

Kolja (13) lives alone in an empty house in Krasnoarmeisk. First his father died, later his mother too. They were addicted to alcohol and drugs. Kolja survives by stealing coal from railroad carriages. He sniffs glue to reduce the hunger. His 25 year old brother beats him up and steals his money whenever he drops by. To avoid getting trapped in his house with his brother he barricades the door of his house and enters and leaves through a small window. In winter most of his street friends have left to the Crimea where it's warmer. His only friends left are the nine year old Sascha and his dog Nadzieschka. Kolja's first dog was killed by his brother.

Dutch Farmer Chris van Wijk has started his own farm in Ukraine. In the massive stables of a former Kolchoz he rents a small part where he keeps 25 milk cows. He hopes to be able to expand, but he has no plans to become a massive agricultural company. Ukraine used to be the cornbelt of the Soviet Union. After the collapse, the production also collapsed. It now is slowly recovering. Van Wijk: "Ukrains should focus again on Russia instead of the EU. There's a huge market and the network is still there."